Roof construction



July 12, 1960 J. MUHR ROOF CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 24, 1956 IN V EN TOR. J OHN MUHE MEN e Roor coNsTRuorroN I John MuhrQDayton, Ohio (650 sw. 62nd Court, Miami, Fla.) a

. Filed Aug. '24, 1956, sen'N geoar'rz 1 Claimr or. 50-64 i ed Sta es Pa en Patented July 12, 1960 the upper surface thereof which is subject to longitudinal compression forces. Since these notches are filled by the purlins, however, weakening of the rafters is not to be expected. In the construction outlined above, the

. rafters may be 2" x 6" in cross-section, with purlins beh1g2" x 4" in cross-section.

In Figure 3 of the drawing the intersecting rafters and purlins are illustrated as forming a rectangular lattice with the purlins being spaced apart a distance equal to twice the spacing between the rafters. The invention, as

will be apparent from the following description, is not limited to sucha configuration, however.

Roof tiles '16 illustrated in Figures 4 and 5, are adapted to be secured to the lattice formed by the purlins and rafters. Each roof tile 16 is provided with four spaced right angular flanges 18 projecting from the under side of the tile. These flanges are cast with the tiles, which may be a concrete aggregate, clay, a plastic, a glass, or any suitable ceramic material, or the like.

The flanges 18 cooperate to form two intersecting channels in the nature of an open cross on the underside of the tile such that theflanges may straddle a rafter passing under the tile from side to side or they may straddle a purlin passing under the tile from end to end.

construction embodying a novel rooftile design, the

roof tile being attachable directly to the-raftersfand purlins of the roof substructure, without the useof intermediate roof boards. I A-further object of this invention -is; to providea roof structure which depending upon the pitch of the. roof structure, is water-tight for averageweather conditions without supplementary sealing means and-whichxmay include a vent opening for ventilating the air space. under the roof tile when employed in tropical climates.

Other objects and advantages reside in the construction of parts, the combination thereof, the method of manufacture, and the mode of operation, as will become more apparent from the following description.

, In the'drawing, a

endthereof anda hollow arched portion 22 at the op- Figure ,1 is an elevational view a'gable roof .embody- 7 ing the present invention, where in overlapping tiles of a substantially rectangular shape are applied to the rafters and purlins ofa roof substructure.

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the line 22 of Figure 1'. t i f Figure 3 .is a plan view of the under side of a: roof structure, .ernbodying the present invention, whereinv tiles of substantially square shape are attached to the rafters and purlins of the roof structure.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a roof tile of this invention, illustrating the under side of the tile of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a roof tile of this invention, illustrating the top side of the. roof tile of Figure 3. v

Referring to the drawing in detail, the roof structure comprises a plurality of equispaced, parallel, inclined rafters 10 extending oppositely from a ridgepole -12, as shown in Figure 2. Extending parallel to the ridgepole 12 are a plurality of equispaced purlins 14 secured in spaced relation to the rafters 12.

In the preferred construction, the rafters are notched at equispaced intervals along the top surface thereof to a depth equal to one-half the depth of the purlins for receipt of the purlins. The purlins are notched correspondingly along the lower surface thereof at equispaced intervals to a depth equal to one-half the depth of the purlins. In assembling the rafters and purlins, the notches in the purlins are brought into'interlocking engagement with the notches in the rafters.

It is to be noted that the rafters 10 are notched upon The roof tile 16 is placed directly onthe lattice formed by. the rafters andpurlins in staggered'tiers, as clearly illustrated in Figure 1, there being tiles 16 engagingeach rafter 10 at points midway between each pair of adjacent purlins :14, and tiles 1 6 engaging each purlin 14 at points midway between each pair of adjacent rafters 7 As shown in Figures 3, 4 and 5 the tiles to present a substantially square surface area. Tiles 16a, shown in Figure 1, are modified, in that they present a substantially rectangular surface area illustrating that the roof construction described herein is not limited to the use. of tiles of a square configuration.

Each tile 16, .or 16a is provided with arib 26 at one posite endLAs clearly shown in Figure 1, adjacent tiles in horizontal tiers overlap, the rib portion 20 of one tile projecting. under and mating with the arched portion 22 of the adjacent tile. Adjacent horizontal tiers of the tiles are staggered in overlapping relation. Each tile 16, or 16a, has a raised lower side 26, adapted to project over the upper side offthetil es inthe adjacent lower horizontal tier; Each tile 16, or 16a, is further provided with an arch 23 centrally located in the raised lower side thereof, adapted to project over the arched portions 22 of the tiles of the adjacent lower tier.

Dimensionally, the lattice formed by the rafters and purlins may take any regular rectangular configuration. The tiles 16 must be proportioned accordingly, such that each tile has a length, along the tier slightly greater than the distance between rafters, and a width across the tier slightly greater than one-half the distance between adjacent purlins.

The tiles 16, or 16a, are secured to the lattice by suitable nails or pins as indicated at 30 driven transversely,

through the rafters or purlins and through the flanges 18 of the tiles. Suitable holes 31 are provided in the flanges 18 prior to the assembly of the tiles. Thus, once the rafters and purlins have been assembled to provide the rectangular lattice, the tiles are readily assembled by laying the tiles lowermost tier first, securing each tile with one or more nails 30. The resultant roof covering is structurally sound without the use of any intermediate.

roofing or the like between the tile and the lattice. It is to be noted that each tile engaging a purlin has sides abutting the rafters, as illustrated in Figure 3'. Therefore, these tiles cannot twist or pivot upon the 3 purlins, with the result that the tiles engaging the rafters and overlapping with the tiles engaging the purlins are stabilized and cannot twist or pivot upon the rafters. Clearly, such construction effects a considerable reduction in materiai costs, by eliminating the need for roof boards providing a flooring immediately under the roof tiles. j 1

The roof structure illustrated in the drawing may, be employed on both gabled roofs and pitched flat,,roofs. When the tiles are to. be applied to a gable roof a ridge tile 32 adapted to straddle the ridgepole 12 is provided. Each ridge tile 32 comprises an angular cover portion 34 and a pair of spaced parallel flanges 36 projecting downwardly therefrom. As illustrated, the cover portion 34 and the flanges 36 comprise an integral tile. The flanges 36 are spaced to engage the ridgepole 12 between adjacent rafters it? and are secured to the ridge- The several colors may be combined on the same roof structure. Preferably, in tropical climates, the tiles would present a white or other highly reflective external surface to reduce heat absorption. Suitable insulation may be provided under the roof tiles as may be deemed desirable.

Although the preferred embodiment of the device has been described, it will be understood that within the purview of this invention various changes may be made in the form, details, proportion and arrangement of parts, the combinationthereof and mode of operation, which generally stated consist in a device capable of carrying out the objects set forth, as disclosed, and defined in the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

A roof construction comprising, in combination, a plurality of parallel equispaced inclined rafters, a plurality of parallel equispaced purlins engaging said rafters and extending normal thereto, said rafters and said purlins cooperating to provide a rectangular planar lattice for receiving a roof covering, a plurality of likev roof tiles, there being one roof tile supported by each rafter at a point midway between each pair of adjacent purlins and i one roof tile supported by each purlin at a point midbetween the side of the angular covering portion 34 minimize water leakage under the ridge tile 32 during rain storms, an upwardly directed flange 42 is provided at the top of the tiles adjacent the ridge tile 32, thesetiles being indicated by the reference numeral 44.

In cooler climates, where ventilation of the air space under the roof is less important, the ridge tiles 32 may be seated directly upon adjacent tiers of tiles 16, or 16a, Without provision of the special flanges 42.

For relatively high pitched roofs, the tiles assembled as described therein are Water-tight and additional means for sealing the tiles is not required. The configuration of the individual tiles and the manner of overlapping is such as to provide a water drainage down the sloped sides of the roof with no tendency of the water to penetrate between the tiles. For low pitched roofs where normal winds may drive the Water between the overlapping in staggered relationship and adjacent tiles in each tier overlapping, each said tile having four spaced right angular flanges projecting normally from the underlapping tiles, the use of a suitable sealing means between side thereof arranged to form :two intersecting channels 1n the nature of anopen' cross engageable with the lattice thereunder, and means for securing the flanges to the lattice.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 213,035 Boyd 1 Mar, 11, 1879 871,179 Otis Nov. 19, 1907 -1,698,091 Grigsby V Jan. 8, 1929 FOREIGN PATENTS 671,660 France V V Sept. 7, 1929 295,260 Italy Apr. 16, 1932 164,316 Austria Oct. 25, 1949 v 165,940 Austria May 10, 1950 1,084,900 France July 13, 1954 

